The present invention relates to a device for opening sealed packages of pourable food product. The device is especially useful for opening sealed aseptic cartons of the type commonly used for packaging a wide range of food products including wine, tea, tomato puree, fruit juice, mineral water, yogurt, cream, and thermally treated milk, i.e., milk treated at ultra-high temperature, commonly known as UHT milk. Typical examples of such packages are the parallelepiped-shaped packages known by the registered trademarks Tetra Brik(copyright) and Tetra Brik Aseptic(copyright), and the parallelepiped packages with bevelled corners, known by the registered trademarks Tetra Prisma(copyright) and Tetra Prisma Aseptic(copyright), which are manufactured using machines for packaging pourable food products such as the TBA/21(trademark) filling machine, available from Tetra Brik Packaging Systems, Via Delfini, Modena, Italy.
Various solutions have been proposed for permitting a user to conveniently open the above-mentioned type of package and access the products contained therein in a convenient manner.
According to one prior solution known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,655,387, a perforated line was provided diagonally across the corner flap of a package. By lifting the corner flap and tearing along the perforated line, a user could open the package. This arrangement was simple and permitted an inexpensive means of allowing a user to open and pour contents from a package. However, although the corner flap could be folded to prevent insects or dust entering any product remaining in the carton after a first use, the carton could not be re-closed in a reliable manner and in the event that the carton was tipped over, product spillage was inevitable.
Another prior solution known from European Patent No. 108444, envisages the provision of a pre-punched hole in the packaging material, covered by a tab of material which a user can grip and tear-off, in order to pour the contents through the pre-punched hole. As known, the above-described cartons are made of a laminated material comprising a layer of fibre-based material such as paper having an appropriate degree of stiffness, and covered on both sides with a heat-sealable plastics material. In the case of an aseptic package, an aseptic barrier layer constituted e.g., by an aluminium foil layer, is applied to side of the packaging material which is destined to be located on the inside of the carton. The aseptic barrier layer is, in turn, covered with a layer of food-compatible plastics material. The pre-punched hole extends through the paper and through the heat-sealable plastics material covering the paper. However, the aseptic barrier layer remains intact. The pull-tab is affixed to the aseptic barrier layer in the pre-punched hole. In this way, the aseptic qualities of the package are guaranteed, until such time that a user pulls the tab to tear open the aseptic barrier layer in the pre-punched hole. This arrangement made it very quick and simple to open a package.
Further developments saw the introduction of opening devices such as the ones known from European Patent No. 558946, and from European Patent No. 658,480 having a frame surrounding the pre-punched hole and pull-tab, and a reclosable lid hinged the frame. These known arrangements provide easy opening and permit packages to be reclosed. Although these opening devices have gained widespread consumer acceptance, they are mainly used on packages having a volume of at least 500 ml, and have been particularly appreciated when used on large-volume packages containing, for example, 1000 ml or 1500 ml of liquid-food product, when it is often desired to serve some of the product, then reclose the package and store the remaining product.
For small volume packages containing a single serving of food product, such as e.g., 200 ml or 330 ml cartons of fruit juice, commonly known as portion packages, the opening arrangements have mainly been in the form of a small, pre-punched straw hole. The consumer simply perforates the aseptic barrier layer in the pre-punched hole with a drinking straw in order to consume the product contained in the carton. Also known from DE-U1-26919195, is a device having a threaded tubular member defining a pouring opening therein and adapted for screwing into the straw hole of a package, and a cap for closing the pouring opening which is connected by a flexible hinge to the tubular member. A user simply screws the tubular member into the straw hole and opens the cap in order to allow product to flow through the pouring opening. However, these solutions imply providing and individually packaging drinking straws or opening devices, and either applying a suitably packed drinking straw to the outside of every carton, or purchasing the opening device for screwing into the straw hole of the cartons separately. Although the use of individually packed drinking straws attached to each carton has found wide consensus among consumers, especially children, it does not allow direct drinking from the smaller-volume carton without a straw, which is the manner of drinking preferred by youths and young adults.
As a partial solution to this problem, portion packages have been provided which have a larger pre-punched hole of such a size as to permit direct drinking from the carton, and a pull-tab device covering the large pre-punched hole. In this way, a consumer simply removes the large pull-tab in order to drink directly from the carton. However, if one does not desire to consume all of the contents, the package cannot be resealed and is susceptible to spillage. Furthermore, in some countries, consumers strongly dislike having to touch the laminated packaging material with the lips.
Many opening devices are known which have means of cutting through a portion of a carton, such as the aseptic barrier layer, during opening.
Laid-open Japanese Patent No. 63-149818 describes an opening device having a frame bearing two upright semi-circular walls. A lever having a matching semi-circular configuration is journalled between the walls for rotation about an axis passing substantially through the centers of the planar bases of the semi-circular walls, parallel and adjacent to the surface of the package. The lower portion of the lever facing the package has teeth for rupturing the packaging material, and a grip-tab, whereby a user can open the package by rotating the lever in one direction, and reclose the package by rotating the lever in the opposite direction. However, this kind of opening device is not suitable for direct drinking from the package and requires the application of significant force in order to drive the teeth through the packaging material. This may lead to inadvertent spillage of the contents of the package.
Laid-open Japanese Patent Application No. 64-2727 describes an opening device having a frame defining a tubular portion, a sleeve arranged slideably within the tubular portion and connected to the frame by a collapsible bellows, and a cap hinged to the frame and overlying the open uppermost end of the sleeve in a closed position. A user has to apply pressure on the cap, which is transferred to the sleeve, thereby collapsing the bellows. The lower end of the sleeve punctures the packaging material of the container and the reclosable cap can be opened to pour the contents. However, the cap can be knocked during handling and transportation, thereby inadvertently collapsing the bellows and causing the sleeve to puncture the underlying packaging material.
Also known from laid-open Japanese Patent Application No. 63-156928 is a three-piece opening device consisting of a frame having an externally threaded portion, a screw-cap which can be screwed onto the frame, and a sleeve located in a tubular portion of the frame and having a lower toothed edge which, when actuated by screwing the cap onto the frame, perforates the laminated packaging material of a container.
However, in all of these latter-mentioned devices provided with means for cutting through packaging material when opening a carton, there is the drawback that the contents of the package may be accessed by a user when the cutting of the packaging material is incomplete. This means that there may be an insufficient opening to provide for correct pouring of the product from the carton. This drawback is especially serious when drinking directly from the carton, because if the product does not pour in a sufficient quantity, a user may be tempted to squeeze the carton, causing an increase in pressure in its interior. If the increased pressure suddenly ruptures the partly-cut packaging material, the product would gush out of the carton, with obvious inconveniences for the consumer.
Accordingly, a main aim of the invention is to provide a new type of device for opening packages of pourable food products which overcomes the drawbacks encountered in the prior art opening devices.
Within this aim, an object of the invention is to provide a device for opening packages of pourable food product, especially for portion packs, which prevents opening of the package until an aseptic barrier layer in a pre-punched hole has been completely ruptured, so as to guarantee correct pouring once the package has been opened.
Another object of the invention is to provide a device for opening packages of pourable food product, which permits direct drinking from small cartons or portion packages, without a consumers lips contacting the laminated packaging material surrounding the device.
A further object of the invention is to provide a device for opening packages of pourable food product which, once applied to a carton and actuated to cut through the packaging material constituting the carton, cannot be returned to its original state, whereby to provide extremely visible tamper evidence for the consumer.
Another object of the invention is to provide a device for opening packages of pourable food product which can be quickly and easily re-closed, and which is completely reliable and safe in use.
With the above aim and objects in view, the invention provides a device for opening packages of pourable food product comprising a frame fixable on a package, a tubular member connected to said frame and internally defining a pouring opening, and a cap pivotally connected to said tubular member for rotation about a first axis for opening and closing said pouring opening, characterized in that said tubular member is movably connected to said frame for rotation about a second axis extending substantially perpendicularly with respect to said first axis. Further features of the invention are defined in the sub-claims.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided a package of pourable food product, characterized in that it comprises an opening device as defined in claims 1-9.